The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) last month appointed an employee of the controversial, pro-LGBTQ+ charter school, Magic City Acceptance Academy (MCAA), to the official state textbook committee, though it did so by means not evidently based on law.
According to Alabama Code § 16-36-60, the 23-member state textbook committee consists of 14 members nominated by the state education superintendent and approved by the State Board of Education (BOE), and nine members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alabama Senate.
Those 14 members will consist of eight classroom teachers, four at-large state educators, and two higher education employees. The governor's nine appointments are supposed to consist of eight individuals from each education district and "one appointed statewide who shall be a member of a local board of education at the time of appointment."
The law goes on to say, "These nine additional members shall have general knowledge of the subject area to be considered for textbook adoption, a demonstrated ability to read and write at a post-high school level, and not be employed in education."
Vacancies in the office of any textbook committee member are filled by the original appointing authority under state law.
On June 23, MCAA posted to social media that one of its faculty members, Emily Eddings-Sandley, had been appointed to the textbook committee. However, the State BOE's June 11 resolution to adopt its 14 appointees to the committee did not mention Eddings-Sandley's name. Likewise, the Alabama Senate's confirmation records did not list her in any confirmation vote in this or previous years.
Public records for the textbook committee's membership are scant. There is no single webpage or document that provides a complete list of the committee's members. However, one thing is clear: Eddings-Sandley's name is not among those approved by the Alabama Senate or the State BOE, the only two bodies statutorily allowed to appoint committee members.
1819 News sought clarification from both Eddings-Sandley and ALSDE. The former did not respond to inquiries from 1819 News. The latter did confirm her spot on the board.
A spokesperson for ALSDE provided 1819 News with a June 19 letter from State Education Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey to Eddings-Sandley, informing her of her appointment.
"You have been appointed to the 2026-2027 Alabama State Textbook Committee," the letter reads. "This committee will evaluate and recommend the books for adoption in the area of Digital Literacy and Computer Science. Material to be reviewed encompasses Grades K-12."
The letter goes on to list June 23 as the date of the committee's first meeting, at which members were to take an oath of office.
"We are looking forward to seeing you at the organizational meeting and working with you as you evaluate textbooks for Alabama's school children," the letter concludes.
1819 News further inquired how Eddings-Sandley had been appointed to the committee and what public evidence there was of her place on it. The spokesperson told 1819 News that Mackey was the only one who could answer those questions. However, he was out of town and unavailable to answer.
The textbook committee's job is to evaluate and recommend textbooks for Alabama's public K-12 schools. Its meetings are closed to the public and do not fall under the state's transparency law, the Open Meetings Act (OMA).
In fact, it's a Class C misdemeanor for any member of the committee or for any other person to disclose the committee's textbook ratings and gradings to anyone except the State BOE, the State Superintendent of Education, or both, until after the contracts are made.
Once the committee finishes its evaluations, it sends recommendations to the State BOE. After that, the board has the final say at meetings open to the public. Since the State BOE technically conducts the deliberative process and the Textbook Committee only makes recommendations, the law does not appear to subject them to OMA.
Records state that Eddings-Sandley works in the technology program at MCAA.
MCAA has been in the crosshairs of state lawmakers for years for its explicitly progressive and LGBTQ-promoting activities.
Recently, the Alabama Charter School Commission denied MCAA's campus expansion proposal — including moving its theatre, band room, and an expanded "mental health clinic" with "social workers" into a second location.
MCAA is part of an expanding network of non-profit organizations, touching education, medical centers and more in the Birmingham area.
Karen Musgrove, an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is MCAA's CEO. She also serves as CEO of the Magic City Wellness Center (MCWC). MCWC is an LGBTQ medical wellness center. In 2025, MCAA received roughly $3.38 million in State funding and $337,000 in federal funding.
She is also the only paid employee of Birmingham AIDS Outreach (BAO), a non-profit that has received multiple federal Health and Human Services (HHS) grants in recent years, despite anticipated cuts under President Donald Trump. BAO boasts partnerships with MCAA, MCWC and the Magic City Acceptance Center, which offers "social and supportive programming rooted in resilience and inclusion to empower and connect Alabama's LGBTQ+ community."
RELATED: State doling out millions in funding to progressive non-profits in Birmingham
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